"they could claim the product was ""the world's first pocket sized transistor radio"". Powered by four AA batteries, the TR-55 used a superheterodyne circuit incorporating two AF stages and covered the medium wave broadcast band. The TR-55 used the following transistors: The TR-55's five transistors were designed in house by Sony, the technology having been licensed from Bell Labs. This made Sony the first company to produce commercial transistor radios from the ground up. American company Regency had launched their Regency TR-1 transistor radio earlier in 1954, but bought the transistors from Texas Instruments. Printed circuit boards were used, which"
"emitter. The first ""prototype"" pocket transistor radio was shown by INTERMETALL (a company founded by Herbert Mataré in 1952) at the ""Internationale Funkausstellung Düsseldorf"" between August 29, 1953 and September 9, 1953. The first ""production"" pocket transistor radio was the Regency TR-1, released in October 1954. Produced as a joint venture between the Regency Division of Industrial Development Engineering Associates, I.D.E.A. and Texas Instruments of Dallas Texas, the TR-1 was manufactured in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was a near pocket-sized radio featuring 4 transistors and one germanium diode. The industrial design was outsourced to the Chicago firm of Painter, Teague and"
"Regency TR-1 The Regency TR-1 was the first commercially manufactured transistor radio. First sold in 1954, it was a novelty due to small size and portability; about 150,000 units were sold despite mediocre performance. The device demonstrated the use of transistors for consumer electronics; previously transistors had only been used in military or industrial applications. Surviving specimens are sought out by collectors. Two companies—Texas Instruments of Dallas, Texas, and Industrial Development Engineering Associates (I.D.E.A.) of Indianapolis, Indiana—worked together to produce the Regency TR-1. Previously, Texas Instruments produced instrumentation for the oil industry and locating devices for the U.S. Navy—and I.D.E.A."
"Transistor radio A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Following their development in 1954, made possible by the invention of the transistor in 1947, they became the most popular electronic communication device in history, with billions manufactured during the 1960s and 1970s. Their pocket size sparked a change in popular music listening habits, allowing people to listen to music anywhere they went. Beginning in the 1980s, however, cheap AM transistor radios were superseded by devices with higher audio quality such as portable CD players, personal audio players, boomboxes, and (eventually) smartphones, some of which"
"Jersey. The Richardson Company in Melrose Park, Illinois and Indianapolis supplied the circuit board material to Croname in Chicago, who manufactured the circuit boards. The actual plastic case for the TR-1 was produced by Argus Plastics in Indianapolis, Indiana. Regency TR-1 The Regency TR-1 was the first commercially manufactured transistor radio. First sold in 1954, it was a novelty due to small size and portability; about 150,000 units were sold despite mediocre performance. The device demonstrated the use of transistors for consumer electronics; previously transistors had only been used in military or industrial applications. Surviving specimens are sought out by"
"with Radio Shack to market the hobby grade transistors. Other manufacturers followed soon after. ""Early- Before 1956"" ""Later as transistor yield improved and size got smaller- After 1956"" In the later runs Raytheon kept the bigger transistor case size for the CK721 and CK722. A possible reason was marketing. The size was like an identifying physical trademark. Many people who used these transistor still remembered what they looked like. Although Regency is credited of building and marketing the first Transistor Radio (Model TR-1 in 1954), Raytheon was only a few months behind with the 8TP1 through 4 ""lunchbox"" style radio."
"was unusual for the time. The speaker grille was made from punched aluminum, and its design was reportedly inspired by Lincoln Motor Company automobiles of the era. Although it was not as compact as originally intended, the relatively small size of the TR-55 was a novelty, and attracted the attention of Japanese consumers. TR-55 The TR-55, released in 1955, was Sony's first transistor radio, and the first to be made in Japan. The use of transistors allowed the device to be much smaller than earlier vacuum tube radios. Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka, then operating under the business name Tokyo"
"smaller batteries. They were convenient, though the prices were initially high and the sound quality of early models was not nearly as good as tube radios. Later models equalled or surpassed tube models in audio quality. Transistors also made it possible to manufacture portable FM radios, which was impractical using tubes. Transistor radios were available in many sizes from console to table-top to matchbox. Transistors are still used in today's radios, though the integrated circuit containing a large number of transistors has surpassed the use of singly packed transistors for the majority of radio circuitry. Transistor radios appeared on the"
"""transistor"" today. Morgan Sparks made the bipolar junction transistor into a practical device. These were also licensed to a number of other electronics companies, including Texas Instruments, who produced a limited run of transistor radios as a sales tool. Early transistors were chemically unstable and only suitable for low-power, low-frequency applications, but as transistor design developed, these problems were slowly overcome. There are numerous claimants to the title of the first company to produce practical transistor radios. Texas Instruments had demonstrated all-transistor AM radios as early as 1952, but their performance was well below that of equivalent battery tube models."
"radio appeared in the Consumer Reports that said, ""The transistors in this set have not been used in an effort to build the smallest radio on the market, and good performance has not been sacrificed."" Following the success of the 8-TP-1, Zenith, RCA, DeWald, and Crosley began flooding the market with additional transistor radio models. Chrysler and Philco announced that they had developed and produced the world's first all-transistor car radio in the April 28th 1955 edition of the Wall Street Journal. Chrysler made the all-transistor car radio, Mopar model 914HR, available as an ""option"" in fall 1955 for its"
"contain radios themselves. Before the transistor was invented, radios used vacuum tubes. Although portable vacuum tube radios were produced, they were typically bulky and heavy. The need for a low voltage high current source to power the filaments of the tubes and high voltage for the anode potential typically required two batteries. Vacuum tubes were also inefficient and fragile compared to transistors, and had a limited lifetime. Bell Laboratories demonstrated the first transistor on December 23, 1947. The scientific team at Bell Laboratories responsible for the solid-state amplifier included William Shockley, Walter Houser Brattain, and John Bardeen. After obtaining patent"
"and size of the TR-1 was well received, but the reviews of the TR-1's performance were typically adverse. The Regency TR-1 is patented by Richard C. Koch, , former Project Engineer of I.D.E.A. In February 1955 the second transistor radio, the 8-TP-1, was introduced by Raytheon. It was a larger portable transistor radio, including an expansive four-inch speaker and four additional transistors (the TR-1 used only four). As a result, the sound quality was much better than the TR-1. An additional benefit of the 8-TP-1 was its efficient battery consumption. In July 1955, the first positive review of a transistor"
"signal circuits. By comparison, the transistor radio could fit in a pocket and weighed half a pound or less, and was powered by standard flashlight batteries or a single compact 9-volt battery. The now-familiar 9-volt battery was introduced for powering transistor radios. Listeners sometimes held an entire transistor radio directly against the side of the head, with the speaker against the ear, to minimize the ""tinny"" sound caused by the high resonant frequency of its small speaker. Most radios included earphone jacks and came with single earphones that provided only mediocre-quality sound reproduction. To consumers familiar with the earphone-listening experience"
"Petertil. It was initially released in one of four different colours: black, bone white, red, and gray. Other colours were to shortly follow. The first ""production"" all-transistor car radio was developed by Chrysler and Philco corporations and it was announced in the April 28th 1955 edition of the Wall Street Journal. Chrysler had made the all-transistor car radio, Mopar model 914HR, available as an option starting in fall 1955 for its new line of 1956 Chrysler and Imperial cars which first hit the dealership showroom floors on October 21, 1955. The first working silicon transistor was developed at Bell Labs"
"Division of I.D.E.A announced the TR-1 on October 18, 1954, and put it on sale in November 1954. It was the first practical transistor radio made in significant numbers. One year after the TR-1 release, sales approached 100,000 units. The look and size of the TR-1 were well received, but reviews of its performance were typically adverse. The Regency TR-1 is patented by Richard C. Koch, , former Project Engineer of I.D.E.A. The Regency TR-1 circuitry was refined from the Texas Instruments prototype, reducing the number of parts, including two expensive transistors. Though this severely reduced the audio output volume,"
"both within Japan and in export markets, including Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Germany. Featuring six transistors, push-pull output and greatly improved sound quality, the TR-72 continued to be a popular seller into the early sixties. In May 1956, the company released the TR-6, which featured an innovative slim design and sound quality capable of rivaling portable tube radios. The following year, 1957, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo came out with the TR-63 model, then the smallest (112 × 71 × 32 mm) transistor radio in commercial production. It was a worldwide commercial success. University of Arizona professor Michael Brian Schiffer, PhD,"
"popular choice with listeners who are dissatisfied with terrestrial music radio because of a limited selection of music and reception problems. However, transistor radios are still popular for news, talk radio, weather, live sporting events and emergency alert applications. Transistor radio A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Following their development in 1954, made possible by the invention of the transistor in 1947, they became the most popular electronic communication device in history, with billions manufactured during the 1960s and 1970s. Their pocket size sparked a change in popular music listening habits, allowing people"
"market in 1954, but at a high price. By the 1960s, reduced prices and an increase in desire for portability made them very popular. There was something of a marketing war over the number of transistors sets contained, with many models named after this number. Some sets even had non-functional reject transistors soldered to the circuit board, doing absolutely nothing, so the sales pitch could advertise a higher number of transistors. Vacuum tube radios and early transistor radios were hand assembled. Today radios are designed with the assistance of computers and manufactured with much greater use of machinery. Today's radios"
"TR-55 The TR-55, released in 1955, was Sony's first transistor radio, and the first to be made in Japan. The use of transistors allowed the device to be much smaller than earlier vacuum tube radios. Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka, then operating under the business name Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, had been working on plans to introduce a transistor radio to the market since 1953. When the TR-55 was released in Japan in August 1955, it was the first transistor radio marketed in that country. The TR-55 featured the Sony name, but the company did not officially change its name to"
"and produced by Chrysler and Philco in 1955. Chrysler offered this all-transistor car radio, Mopar model 914HR, available as an ""option"" in the fall of 1955, for its new line of 1956 Chrysler and Imperial cars. Philco was the manufacturer of these all-transistor car radios for the Chrysler Corporation and had also used its surface-barrier transistors in the radio's circuitry design. Starting in 1955, Philco had decided to sell commercial manufacturing license agreements with other large electronic semiconductor companies, which allowed them the right to produce and sell its high-frequency surface-barrier transistors. Sprague Electric Company was one of the first"
"based upon the 1948 invention of the ""Transistron""-germanium point-contact transistor by Herbert Mataré and Heinrich Welker. However, as with the early Texas Instruments units (and others) only prototypes were ever built; it was never put into commercial production. RCA had demonstrated a prototype transistor radio as early as 1952, and it is likely that they and the other radio makers were planning transistor radios of their own, but Texas Instruments and Regency Division of I.D.E.A., were the first to offer a production model starting in October 1954. The use of transistors instead of vacuum tubes as the amplifier elements meant"
"Koyo Electronics Corporation Limited Koyo Electronics (Kōyō Denki) and its subsidiary Koyo Electronics Industry (Kōyō Denshi Kōgyō), often collectively referred to as just Koyo, are Japanese electronics companies based in Kodaira, Tokyo that manufactured radios since 1955 until 1973, and now its subsidiary manufactures industrial electronics devices and factory automation control systems. Their first product was a vacuum tube radio released in 1955, and their first transistor radio was the KR-6TS-1 radio released in the spring of 1957 at the price of 14,000 yen. Through the 1960s, Koyo had manufactured and sold millions of portable transistor radios, particularly, their best-selling"
"would be easier to fabricate, but few investigated this possibility. Gordon K. Teal was the first to develop a working silicon transistor, and his company, the nascent Texas Instruments, profited from its technological edge. From the late 1960s most transistors were silicon-based. Within a few years transistor-based products, most notably easily portable radios, were appearing on the market. The static induction transistor, the first high frequency transistor, was invented by Japanese engineers Jun-ichi Nishizawa and Y. Watanabe in 1950. It was the fastest transistor through to the 1980s. A major improvement in manufacturing yield came when a chemist advised the"
"a transistor stage along with vacuum tubes, to extend battery life. The size of these transistors led to developments in miniature, carbon microphones. These microphones could be mounted on various items, even eyeglasses. In 1951, Raytheon manufactured the transistor and was one of the first companies to mass-produce transistors to throughout America. Raytheon realized that their hearing aid only lasted short-term and began to sell the vacuum-tube hearing aids again along with transistor hearing aids. The act of putting transistors into hearing aids was so quick that they were not properly tested. It was later found that transistors could get"
"usually a converter (mixer/local oscillator), an IF amplifier, a detector/audio amplifier, audio power amplifier, and a rectifier. This design was used for virtually all commercial radio receivers until the transistor replaced the vacuum tube in the 1970s. The invention of the transistor in 1947 revolutionized radio technology, making truly portable receivers possible, beginning with transistor radios in the late 1950s. Although portable vacuum tube radios were made, tubes were bulky and inefficient, consuming large amounts of power and requiring several large batteries to produce the filament and plate voltage. Transistors did not require a heated filament, reducing power consumption, and"
"fighter planes in 1955, which was called the ""Transac"" (C-1000, C-1100) and which stood for ""Transistor Automatic Computer"". It used Philco's high-frequency surface-barriers transistors in its circuitry design. Chrysler and Philco announced that they had developed and produced the world's first all-transistor car radio and it was announced in the April 28, 1955, edition of the ""Wall Street Journal"". Chrysler made the all-transistor car radio, Mopar model 914HR, available in Fall 1955 for its new line of 1956 Chrysler and Imperial cars, as a $150 option. Philco's radio manufacturing plant in Sandusky, Ohio, had produced the all-transistor car radio unit"
"oversized pockets for their salesmen) model proved highly successful. With the visible success of the TR-63 Japanese competitors such as Toshiba and Sharp joined the market. By 1959, in the United States market, there were more than six million transistor radio sets produced by Japanese companies that represented $62 million in revenue. Transistor radios were extremely successful because of three social forces — a large number of young people due to the post–World War II baby boom, a public with disposable income amidst a period of prosperity, and the growing popularity of rock 'n' roll music. The influence of the"
"Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The Explorer 1 satellite's payload, consisted of a low-power Microlock transistorized (radio beacon) 108.00 MHz transmitter, which was used for tracking and telemetry, and had consisted of a Philco high-frequency surface-barrier transistor in its original circuitry designs. The Philco high-frequency surface-barrier transistor was also the first transistor that was suitable for high-speed computers. Philco developed and produced a miniature transistorized computer brain called the ""Transac"" (models C-1000 and C-1100), for the Navy's jet fighter planes in 1955. ""Transac"" stood for ""Transistor Automatic Computer."" They used Philco's high-frequency surface-barriers transistors. In 1955, MIT's Lincoln Laboratory researchers started"
"it let I.D.E.A. sell the radio for only a small profit. The initial TR-1 retail price was $49.95 (roughly $443 in year-2016 dollars) and it sold about 150,000 units. The TR-1 used Texas Instruments' NPN transistors, hand-picked in sets of four. A 22.5 volt battery provided power, since the only way to get adequate radio frequency performance out of early transistors was to run them close to their collector-to-emitter breakdown voltage. The current drain from this battery was only 4 mA, allowing 20 to 30 hours of operation, in comparison to only several hours for the portable receivers based on"
"in the late 1940s. Listening habits changed in the 1960s due to the introduction of the revolutionary transistor radio, which made possible by the invention of the transistor in 1946. Their compact size — small enough to fit in a shirt pocket — and lower power requirements, compared to vacuum tubes, meant that for the first time radio receivers were readily portable. The transistor radio became the most widely used communication device in history, with billions manufactured by the 1970s. Radio became a ubiquitous ""companion medium"" which people could take with them anywhere they went. The demarcation between what is"
"time, Ed Tudor, jumped at the opportunity to manufacture the TR-1, predicting sales of the transistor radios at ""20 million radios in three years"". The Regency TR-1 was announced on October 18, 1954 by the Regency Division of I.D.E.A., was put on sale in November 1954, and was the first practical transistor radio made in any significant numbers. ""Billboard"" reported in 1954 that ""the radio has only four transistors. One acts as a combination mixer-oscillator, one as an audio amplifier, and two as intermediate-frequency amplifiers."" One year after the release of the TR-1 sales approached the 100,000 mark. The look"
"still in high-school (1914), and by 1949 the company shipped millions of leis to Hawaii each year. An inventor and gadgeteer, Hoeflich continued to develop and even sell machinery that manufactured paper novelty items. Battery-operated portable radios had been available for many years, but Hoeflich hoped a radio with innovative packaging and a publicity campaign could be a runaway success. The transistor had just been invented, but was still an expensive laboratory curiosity; the first pocket transistor radio was still 5 years away. This radio would have to use the existing vacuum tube technology and the tubes would be a"
"of this product were contracted out to Cambridge Consultants. In 1963 Sinclair Radionics introduced their first radio with the ""Sinclair Slimline"" in kit form at forty-nine shillings and sixpence. A year later, in 1964, Sinclair released the ""X-10"" amplifier, one of the first commercial Class-D amplifiers. In the same year, Sinclair released the ""Micro-6"", matchbox-size radio, which the company claimed was the ""world's smallest radio""—it could also be worn on your wrist with the ""Transrista"". In 1965 the ""Micro-FM"" debuted as ""the world""s first pocket-size FM tuner-receiver"", but was unsuccessful due to technical difficulties. Despite problems, illegal clones were produced"